More paving and a new toy!

Slow and steady with the paving projects at my house but I am

 getting there bit by bit, this is the round bed that I decided

 to remove because it just doesn't fit into my overall plan....

I also wanted to raise the border up so it is a little above

ground level, so the digging out of the old pavers begun....

Weeds gone and some blue metal in to level up the area....

I did my best to follow the same pattern and when I got to this

stage I had ran out of whole pavers, I pulled all the off cuts out

 from behind the shed  to see what could be done....

Then came the fun part, I unpacked my new toy and fitted the

correct cutting blade, made a cuppa and read the instructions

and did some googling on cutting pavers with a grinder....

Excited and a little nervous I gave it a go!

And I am very happy with the results, It's a little more

dangerous than my patchwork cutter but I am pleased to say

 I came out with all my fingers and toes....LOL!

And then my favourite part sweeping the sand into

 all the cracks, this part is very therapeutic indeed!

Ta Dah! 3 unsightly spots all patched up...

I still have another little fix up spot that requires some

attention but for now that's on the ever growing to do list....

It is all still a bit gritty out there from the sand but looks so much

better, not perfect but I love Rustic at my

"Little Home Sweet Home"

 I am eager to start my privacy wall next but

too busy this week with party planning....

Thanks for stopping by and sharing my journey with me,

I really do appreciate all your support and comments....

 

Until next time, Happy stitching

 

Kate

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

21st Party Planning

Not much 'real' sewing happening in my Studio at the moment

 because we are busy planning Miss Molly's 21st Party

 which will be held this Saturday 4th July.....

I know 21! When did that happen I ask????

We have been cutting lots of bunting flags to decorate the

 room, we chose these colours to match her cake choice.....

We are having a cupcake tower and cake pops in

 this colour scheme, don't they look gorgeous?

The little(well not so little anymore) non sewing darling

 was on hand to help trim and iron as we went....

What a great ironing job!

I have folded and sewn across the top to thread

 string through and left the edges raw.....

I plan to thread the string through them when we go out

to set up, that way we can make just the right length....

A smaller set for the cake table and a mini

 set to decorate the card box...

Until next time, Happy stitching....

 

Kate

 

 

Patching Pavers and Cracker Night

I have 3 spots on my back pavers that need to be patched up and a side border to be lined up, the first spot is right here where I want to build my privacy wall. It is where I had an old tank stand previously. Yesterday I spent working on patching up this area.

First job was to remove the border pavers so I could

 keep working in the herringbone pattern.....

Next I dug out the excess dirt....

And started getting a level playing field....

A quick trip down the road to the landscaping store

 for some blue metal and some uni sand.....

After all the prepping the pavers went in quite quickly and

 the spot looks much tidier, I love this part sweeping the uni

 sand into all the cracks after a bit of gum boot wacka packing!

Next patch up spot is here, my neighbor tells me they had some sort of wall/garden structure here once upon a time but at the moment it is messy and I am sick of the weeds growing there. Also you will notice the borders will not meet when this is filled in so I have extended the border edging from my newly paved section by 1 paver width to keep it all in line....

I then set about digging out the border section and the concrete that was holding it all together, the ground is very moist at the moment so thankfully digging is a lot easier than if it was dry...

Some more blue metal in before I ran out, I am waiting to go

and get some more this morning at 10am when they open....

Knock off time yesterday and I was pretty

 pleased with my efforts for the afternoon.....

I will pack it down a little more today and sweep some more

sand in the cracks, I now have a clear run

 in this area for my wall to go up....Yay!

This is the third spot which will be a little trickier because of the shape but I am up for a challenge....LOL

I want to patch this section because it will be the path when I make a garden bed along the back edge of my pavers eventually....

 

After a long day I spent last night at my friends house enjoying the first June Long Weekend Cracker night for many years.....

Good times, Good wine and Good company and

Jacky Mister on hand to drive me home.....PERFECT!

It is now 10am and I am off to the landscaping store down

 the road, I hope you all have a great day....

 

I guess this is patch working to a point....

 

Until next time, Happy Stitching

 

Kate

The Week That Was

My week after the Chook Shed Party has been fairly busy, I cooked up some yummy lamb shank pies for dinner the other night (No recipe, I just used the meat and gravy that was left over from some lamb shanks Jacky Mister and I had a few weeks ago. I popped it in the freezer and just warmed it up and thickened it a little and used ready made puff pastry and a muffin tin) They were a hit with my boy....

Not much sewing progress to show, I have unpacked and

sorted my little Dresden wedges into groups ready for stitching..

Arranged my blocks on the design wall also ready for stitching,

I am happy with this placement and LOVE my design wall!!!!

A little binding happening during the week....

Finally had a call from my builder to say he has finished putting

the foam inserts into my patio roof( It took him a

WHOLE 5 WEEKS to do this) talk about the builder from hell!

 He now has the willys with me because I haven't paid him my final payment... Meanwhile I am still waiting on the DA Approval and occupancy certificate from council that he is in charge of supplying....

I mean to say it's not rocket science is it? Get me the paperwork and you can have your money!!!! In a week it will be 6 months from when I signed up for a job that was going to be a month at the most with council plans etc and a 3 day build! Thank goodness they weren't building me a house....

 

The sad part is that he doesn't realize that he has

squashed all the joy out of the project for me...

Anyway onward and upward I say, my next step is to build a privacy wall here at the driveway side of the small patio and pave a couple of spots in the right hand corner where a tank stand was and to the left of the pole, not sure what was there but it needs to be patched up.....

 

This is the look I am going for but will paint mine cream/off

white to match the patio, my very own patchwork wall....

Last night I drew up this plan and will take a trip to the timber

shop some time soon to get the materials needed....

Each tin panel will be between 50 and 60 cm square,

 a bit larger than a fat quarter....

 I am feeling confident but a bit nervous as to

 how it will turn out....LOL!

Watch this space!

It's a long weekend in Australia and I had so many plans but

 seem to be procrastinating a little.....

I might go and tackle some of that paving....

All I really want to do is this but with wine....Ha Ha....

Enjoy your weekend lovely people....

 

Until next time, Happy Stitching

 

Kate

Weekend at the Chook Shed

I spent last weekend hanging out in The Chook Shed

 with Chooky, Googy and Miss Jules....

We had a lovely time celebrating the Chook Sheds

3rd Birthday and were so happy that lots of you

were also joining in on the Cyber Party.....

This was dinner on Friday night when I arrived after a wet

 slippery drive on the last leg of the journey which was dirt

road and there had been lots of rain which is great

for the area but not for my trip....

There's nothing quite like chilling with your friends

in your pyjamas stitching the weekend away....

Staying up late and sleeping in until The Whip cracker

 jumps on your bed and makes you get up!!

We were all ready for a great day of stitching....
Trish was all cosied up under the charity quilt that we have

 all been working on....Earning her keep here....

The finished product that will be donated to one of the

2015 Dungog Flood victims....

I'm so happy I got to be a part of it....

I machine sewed some binding onto 2 quilts,

 you can read about those in my last post....

I then worked on my Vintage Modern Dresden

 Quilt, here is my progress in pictures....

That's as far as I have gotten so far with my blocks and little

Dresden plates, not without problems, all that mood lighting....

And most definitely because a fair bit of this.....

There was reverse sewing involved when a few blocks were

sewn together with the fabric around the wrong way....Lol

I am happy to say that Miss Jule's other half is a great unpicker

 if you constantly feed him dip and bickies....

Trish busy working on her and Chooky's bonding quilt....

Oh the concentration!!!!

Miss Jules was busy quilting table runners....

Lots of bubbles, friendly banter, chatter, food and laughter...
Sadly the time came as it does far too quickly
 for me to pack up the car and head home....
Mr Chooky kindly drove me across the dirt section because
 the rain had not eased up all weekend, I had to take this along
 to calm the nerves whilst we were drifting in the mud....

I have hit the ground running this week  but I
have lots of fun memories and a very dirty car
 to remind me of our great weekend....

Bring on the 4th Birthday Celebrations!


Until next time, Happy Stitching


Kate